Iso Still Relevant in Pro-Play

Let me summarize the Iso changes just in case you haven’t seen them:

Double Tap (e): Duration decreased to 12s Duelist kill signature is removed

Let’s tackle the first one. This increases teams ability to simply avoid Iso on defense. If he activates his shield too early then he loses the ability to get orbs way earlier. I feel like the maps this affects him on the worst is Icebox. Fights in Icebox tend to be reclears of space. If Iso loses his ability to have the 50/50 advantage he doesn’t gain much utility in a fight. On a map like Sunset, Split, Haven or Lotus, the space gained can be utilized much more in fights across the map. For instance, taking C mound control can translate into a B-main clear. He definitely loses some utility on A. He becomes less of a traditional duelist who takes space on A rubble and sits there. I would run him sort of like a sentinel in a double duelist comp. He will always have the ability to take an advantageous fight. As long as he sits on a site that has only one real place of entry he can take a good 70/30 on an opposing teams entry.

On offense I think this is much less of a change. He can take the important fights whenever he wants. If the enemy team gives up a lot of space to avoid him than he still gains the space making advantage without even having to do anything. I think this hardly matters on offense.

Now let’s tackle the second change. This stops his easy snowball that we’ve seen many of the pros experience in ranked. He can’t just win two fights then take another retake fight with a shield. The fact of the matter is that it required Iso to pop off in a round to take effect. It reduces his overpowering snowball but it doesn’t reduce his utility in 90% of fights. Not that bad of a change/


All in all, do these make Iso worse? Yes. But is it by enough to change his usage in pro-play, yes but only on certain maps. I think now Iso will be a pick on the maps where his other utility makes the most sense. Now that people have more experience with the character people have begun to use his wall and vulnerable more.
I still think Iso can be used effectively especially in maps where OPers are prevelant. These changes just revert him from Chamber level raidboss to just another solid duelist.